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  • Seropositivity rate and sociodemographic factors associated to HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis among parturients from Irene Neto Maternity of Lubango city, Angola

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Epidemiology
Short report
Seropositivity rate and sociodemographic factors associated to HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis among parturients from Irene Neto Maternity of Lubango city, Angola
  1. Dinamene Oliveira1,2,
  2. Maria do Rosário Martins2,
  3. Rita Castro2,
  4. Lemuel Cordeiro3,
  5. Maria Rosalina Barroso4,
  6. Maria Antónia Nazaré5,
  7. Filomena Pereira2
  1. 1 Posto Médico do Lubango, Clínica Girassol, Lubango, Huíla, Angola
  2. 2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Universidade Nova de Lisboa Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Lisboa, Portugal
  3. 3 Gabinete de Ensino, Pesquisa e Pós-graduação, Clínica Girassol, Luanda, Angola
  4. 4 Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos Neonatais, Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca, Lisboa, Portugal
  5. 5 Departamento da Mulher, Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca, Lisboa, Portugal
  1. Correspondence to Dinamene Oliveira, Posto Médico do Lubango, Clínica Girassol, Lubango, Huíla, Angola; odinamene{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Objectives To characterise infections by HIV, Treponema pallidum, hepatitis B (HBV) and C virus (HCV) in parturients admitted to Irene Neto Maternity, Lubango city, Huíla province, Angola, namely its seropositivity rate and its association with sociodemographic factors.

Methods An observational, cross-sectional and analytical facility-based survey was conducted among 500 parturients at Irene Neto Maternity, from October 2016 to September 2017. Women in labour were screened for antibodies against HIV-1/2, T. pallidum and HCV. Antigen detection was used to diagnose HBV infections. Sociodemographic data were also collected. The seropositivity rate and respective CIs were estimated at a level of 95%. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed to explore the association between the studied infections and sociodemographic factors.

Results In 11.8% of the parturients (95% CI 9.3 to 14.9), at least one infection was detected. HBV infection was the most common (8.6%), followed by HIV infection (3.0%) and syphilis (1.0%). Coinfection with HBV and HIV was observed in two parturients (0.4%) and HBV, HIV and T. pallidum were all detected in one parturient (0.2%). No HCV infection was detected. For each additional year of formal education, pregnant women had a 10.0% lower chance of being infected with HBV (adjusted OR=0.900, 95% CI 0.816 to 0.992).

Conclusions This study is one of the few reports contributing for the knowledge of some sexually transmitted infections epidemiology in Angola. The seropositivity rate of the studied infections is of concern, especially the high endemicity of HBV. There is a need for a stronger commitment and further research to design cost-effective public health and clinical interventions to improve the situation.

  • hepatitis B
  • HIV
  • syphilis
  • pregnancy
  • Africa

https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2019-054249

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein

    • Contributors Conceived and designed the study: DO, FP, MRM, RC, MRB, MAN and LC. Performed the data collection: DO. Performed the screening tests: DO and RC. Analysed the data: DO and MRM. Wrote the paper: DO, FP and MRM. Revised the paper: RC, MRB, MAN and LC.

    • Funding Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation supported this study through a scholarship assigned to the corresponding author.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Ethics approval The study was approved by the Angola Ethics Committee (Number 35/2017) and previously by the Provincial Direction of Health and Irene Neto Maternity Direction in 2016 before the beginning of the study, since the first was not active when the study started.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement All data relevant to the study are included in the article.